When glazing vertical windows as well as roof windows the pane element is usually connected to a glass-carrying frame, i.e. traditionally the sash, by means of glazing profiles fastened to the frame by means of screws. The pane element is kept in place by means of glass spacers and glazing clips. Though it has proven very efficient, this method suffers from a number of disadvantages, among others the large number of different parts needed for the glazing, and the fact that the discontinuous support may cause potentially destructive strains on the pane element, particularly when using a conventional glass sheet pane element. This influences the lifespan of the pane element with respect to breakage and failure in the pane sealing, the latter resulting in the formation of condensation in the space between the sheet elements.
More recently, attempts have been made to provide the pane element with a moulded border element, thereby forming a pane module, and attaching the border element to the frame. A pane module of this type, which is known from WO2010/088904, allows a greater flexibility in the production of windows, as fewer parts are needed, and the moulded border element provides a continuous support along the entire edge of the pane element, thereby allowing a much higher degree of freedom in designing the sash and/or frame members. Certain functions previously associated with the sash and/or frame members, such as load bearing, may be wholly or partially taken over by the border element and a great variety of window products may be achieved by combining different pane modules and different sash and/or frame members in different ways.
A similar solution to the problem of securing a pane element without using traditional parts has been provided in EP0384462, where dowels projecting from a border element are fixated in counterparts in the sash. Nevertheless, many issues are still remaining. The dowels and counterparts provided in EP0384462 from thermal bridges extending into the sash, thereby influencing the insulation properties of the sash negatively. Furthermore, the design criteria relating to strength and mechanical properties of the pane module require that the border element has to be quite bulky at the dowels, and the sash must be made of a relatively strong material in order to take up the loads from the dowels.
Even though the arrangements disclosed in these documents facilitate the mounting of the pane element, reduce the number of parts and to some extend provide a safer installation, there is still a need for facilitating the installation, improving the insulation properties of the resulting window assembly, and allow for more flexible solutions.